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Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa

Despite the optimism of some molecular biologists, natural selection among the wild ancestors of crops is unlikely to have missed simple genetic improvements that would consistently have enhanced individual fitness. Tradeoff-free opportunities for further improvement of crop traits like photosynthet...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Denison, R Ford, Fedders, James M, Harter, Barry L
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352498/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567939
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00148.x
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author Denison, R Ford
Fedders, James M
Harter, Barry L
author_facet Denison, R Ford
Fedders, James M
Harter, Barry L
author_sort Denison, R Ford
collection PubMed
description Despite the optimism of some molecular biologists, natural selection among the wild ancestors of crops is unlikely to have missed simple genetic improvements that would consistently have enhanced individual fitness. Tradeoff-free opportunities for further improvement of crop traits like photosynthetic efficiency or drought tolerance may therefore be elusive. Opportunities linked to acceptable tradeoffs may be abundant, however. Tradeoffs between individual competitiveness and the collective productivity of plant communities (e.g. those linked to height) have been key to past increases in yield potential. Solar tracking by leaves could involve such tradeoffs, if photosynthetic benefits to tracking leaves are outweighed by increased shading of leaves lower in the canopy. This hypothesis was tested using rotation in the horizontal plane to disrupt solar tracking in alfalfa. In sparse canopies, solar tracking increased net canopy photosynthesis, but rarely by more than 3%. As leaf area increased, solar tracking tended to decrease net canopy photosynthesis, despite edge effects in our 1-m(2) artificial communities, which probably exaggerated net photosynthetic benefits of tracking. Computer modeling suggested that the season-long effects of solar tracking on community productivity can be negative. Solar tracking may have persisted, nonetheless, because individuals whose leaves track the sun increase shading of competitors.
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spelling pubmed-33524982012-05-24 Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa Denison, R Ford Fedders, James M Harter, Barry L Evol Appl Original Articles Despite the optimism of some molecular biologists, natural selection among the wild ancestors of crops is unlikely to have missed simple genetic improvements that would consistently have enhanced individual fitness. Tradeoff-free opportunities for further improvement of crop traits like photosynthetic efficiency or drought tolerance may therefore be elusive. Opportunities linked to acceptable tradeoffs may be abundant, however. Tradeoffs between individual competitiveness and the collective productivity of plant communities (e.g. those linked to height) have been key to past increases in yield potential. Solar tracking by leaves could involve such tradeoffs, if photosynthetic benefits to tracking leaves are outweighed by increased shading of leaves lower in the canopy. This hypothesis was tested using rotation in the horizontal plane to disrupt solar tracking in alfalfa. In sparse canopies, solar tracking increased net canopy photosynthesis, but rarely by more than 3%. As leaf area increased, solar tracking tended to decrease net canopy photosynthesis, despite edge effects in our 1-m(2) artificial communities, which probably exaggerated net photosynthetic benefits of tracking. Computer modeling suggested that the season-long effects of solar tracking on community productivity can be negative. Solar tracking may have persisted, nonetheless, because individuals whose leaves track the sun increase shading of competitors. Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2010-09 2010-08-03 /pmc/articles/PMC3352498/ /pubmed/25567939 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00148.x Text en © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
spellingShingle Original Articles
Denison, R Ford
Fedders, James M
Harter, Barry L
Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title_full Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title_fullStr Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title_full_unstemmed Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title_short Individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
title_sort individual fitness versus whole-crop photosynthesis:solar tracking tradeoffs in alfalfa
topic Original Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3352498/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25567939
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4571.2010.00148.x
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